Namaskar,
This entire letter is related with akhanda kiirtana and its sentient practice.

BABA’S APPROVED APPROACH: SENTIENT KIIRTANA AT DMC

Under Baba’s divine guidance at DMC kiirtana was always done in dharmic fashion and the sanctity and speciality of kiirtana was always strictly maintained, never sacrificed or compromised in any way.

In this regard, in particular, during all the DMC programs, males and females did not sing kiirtana together at the same time. Rather kiirtana was always done separately; and surely everyone who attended DMC remembers this. When the males would sing, the females would practice meditation. And when the females would sing kiirtana, the males would engage in spiritual practice. This arrangement helped ensure that a strong and sentient vibration was created that would allow the mind to easily flow upwards and become more elevated, by Baba’s grace.

EVERYTHING IS SEPARATE IN ANANDA MARGA

We have to remember that Baba has arranged life in Ananda Marga where we we maintain our sanctity by adhering to certain codes of conduct, not by compromising with our values. In the realm of male-female relations, our proper standard is separation, not free and sensuous mixing of the sexes.

Baba has mandated that everything in Ananda Marga should be separate: For example WWD, our relief activities (AMURTEL), reportings, social service projects, LFT trainings, etc. There are all separate along gender lines.

Here is a more complete list for your review:

1. Jagrtis are not shared between males and females for staying over or for office work.
2. Co-education is not practiced with students above 8 or 10 years of age, i.e. or above the age of puberty.
3. During dharmacakra, seminar, and classes, sadhana is done in distinctly different rows.
4. The organisation itself has an entire separate wing for females, WWD or Women’s Welfare Department.
5. Prout, AMURT, VSS etc also have separate sections for males and females.
6. Reporting is done separately.
7. LFT, Tattvika, and Acarya training is separate for males and females.
8. In-Charges are not mixed. Males are in-charges of males and females of females.
Note: Only in Central Office will the head of WWD be controlled by the General Secretary.
9. During DMS, kaoshikii was also performed separately. And still this practice is maintained for DMS.
10. Females do guard duty for females, and males for males; it is not mixed.
11. Akhanda kiirtana is done in a separate manner.
12. Madhur Sadhana is done according to gender, not with the opposite sex.
13. In any gathering, females & males do not participate together for games and sports.
14. All public processions are organised keeping males and females separate.
15. And there are so many systems in place that ensure strict separation of the sexes.

Furthermore, in Caryacarya Baba guides us that the more separation there is between males and females, the better it is. (1)

OVERSEAS STYLE OF MIXED-GENDER AKHANDA KIIRTANA

Unfortunately what is going on nowadays in akhanda kiirtana sessions at some overseas retreats is just opposite to this. Because at these akhanda kiirtana programs males and females are dancing together. Here ‘together’ does not merely mean that the females and males are together in the same place.

Rather in reference to overseas akhanda kiirtana, the term ‘together’ together means that males and females get completely intertwined – even smushed next to each other – where males and females are touching and pressing up against one another. This severely disturbs and compromises the whole experience of singing akhanda kiirtana.

For those who haven’t seen it, here is a descriptive account of what happens in a typical overseas-style akhanda kiirtana program.

The females form one circle around the puja table which is placed in the middle of the room. And then directly surrounding the female circle is a circle of males. In this way, dozens and dozens of females and males are dancing extremely close by, right next to each other in an enclosed environment.

At this gender-mixed, akhanda kiirtana program, invariably bumping, rubbing, and brushing occurs between members of the opposite sex. Because there is an inner circle of females and an outer circle of males and everyone is moving round and round, so both circles tend to lose their shape and some females rub up against the brothers circle, and likewise some males brush up into the female circle. In that way various types of physical contact happens. Because initially people try to close their eyes, dance, sing, and walk around the akhanda kiirtana circle – all at the same time. In that approach, members of the opposite sex end up knocking into and rubbing up against one another. This happens commonly in the daytime and even more during the nighttime akhanda kiirtana when the room is darker. In that case varieties of touching is going on between male and females, especially when it is crowded.

WHAT EFFECT THIS HAS

The basic idea is that if 2 brothers bump into each other during an akhanda kiirtana session it is pardonable and not quite so detrimental to one’s mental flow. The same is the case if two sisters touch. But when males and females touch and inadvertently rub or bump into one another during akhanda kiirtana that is completely disruptive to the flow. That is why a growing number of overseas margiis are feeling suffocated by this type of akhanda kiirtana program. Because the margiis are involved in trying to elevate the mind and prepare the mind for sadhana, yet in our akhanda kiirtana program various types of touching and bumping is going on – as well as other distractions – which degrade the mind.

On the one hand, there is the touching problem between members of the opposite sex and then there are other issues. Because in these akhanda kiirtana sessions if any brother tries to look at Baba’s photo they end up seeing so many females. Because in between the puja table and the brother’s circle is the unbroken chain of dancers in the female circle. In that case, Baba’s photo is virtually blocked by the female line. And if a male tries to see that photo there is a swirling movement of females; and instead of seeing Baba that male will lay their eyes on the faces of so many females.

A similar type of distraction occurs for those females who wish to exit the akhanda kiirtana circle in order to do sadhana. Here also a problem occurs because they are surrounded by males. And when the akhanda kiirtana is very energetic, females will try to find an opening whereby they can sneak through the male circle. But often one accident or near accident occurs where the members of the opposite sex collide.

Other associated difficulties also arise. But whatever the nature or specific details of the problem, the result is the same. Due to a flawed approach of akhanda kiirtana, one’s ideation and concentration get affected and in that way the mind is not able to get purified – rather it is degraded by persistent contact with the opposite sex etc.

ONE OR OTHER WAY MIND IS COERCED TO GO IN NEGATIVE DIRECTION

When both genders are dancing side by side in akhanda kiirtana and they are taking great care not to bump one another, then they are not ideating on Parama Parama. Rather they are thinking, “Do no bump the opposite sex, do not bump the opposite sex.” After all, mind is one so the person doing kiirtana cannot simultaneously think of “not bumping the opposite sex” and ideate on Parama Purusa. It is not possible. Only when the akhanda kiirtan is gender separated can sadhakas focus exclusively on Parama Purusa because then they need not think about “not bumping the opposite sex.”

For this reason, the mixed gender akhanda kiirtan degrades the mind and one cannot concentrate fully on Parama Purusa. That is why it is tamasika. Because most of the time, in one way or another, one is forced to think about the opposite sex, not Parama Purusa.

WHO CAN FORGET THE MIXED-GENDER TRAIN

Here we should bear in mind that the dogma brought into overseas akhanda kiirtana is not just of a single type. Rather it ebbs and flows according to the so-called creativity and energy of the injector of dogma.

For instance, at one New Year’s akhanda kiirtana at Ananda Kanan (NY), a senior male member physically linked together with many young 14 to 20 year old females in tow behind him. That means in the akhanda kiirtana itself he formed one ‘train’. This senior male created one line where all the males and females alternately held onto the shoulders, or waist, or hips, or hair of the person in front. In that way, one male-female train was formed right in the middle of the kiirtana hall. Like this, various off-shoots can occur.

BUMPING INTO SOMEONE FROM THE OPPOSITE SEX RUINS THE SPIRITUAL FLOW

So in our current overseas style of doing akhanda kiirtana, the purpose is not solved – rather the sentient practice of akhanda kiirtana is severely compromised. Because the main idea of akhanda kiirtana is to go close to Parama Purusa, but our current format of overseas-style akhanda kiirtana undermines this great endeavor. Because one has to be aware about not bumping into someone from the opposite sex and other related problems – in which case ideating on Parama Purusa cannot be done.

When the mind is distracted and not focused then true japa cannot be performed.

Ananda Marga philosophy says, “The mere repetition of mantra will not serve any purpose unless there is a rhythmic parallelism between incantative flow (the flow of the mantra) and the mental flow (the flow of the mind). To perform japakriya’ while harbouring harmful thoughts is futile. One can only attain success in japakriya’ if all the psychic propensities are diverted towards the deep spirit of the mantra.” (2)

“The mind runs in one direction towards its object of fascination; its object of ideation lies in another direction…In the midst of such choas ideation on Parama Purus’a is impossible, even in billions of kalpas [ages].” (3)

By these guidelines, it is clear that we should take care in the way in which we organize our akhanda kiirtana programs so that the environment is most conducive toward focusing on Ista. Unfortunately, the way things are now, one’s mind gets rerouted towards sensual thoughts. Even if one does not wish this to happen, that is the practical result when males and females are bumping into one another. Then there is no question of having proper ideation on the kiirtana mantra.

All in all, the overseas style of akhanda kiirtana is artificial culture, or pseudo-culture, or fake culture. Because according to Baba, proper culture means raising the mind to higher values – not towards the baser propensities. When talking about culture Baba says that culture means that expression which motivates the mind toward subtler aspects, introversial. Tragically, this does not happen in our overseas-style, akhanda kiirtana programs.

PROPOSAL FOR OUR OVERSEAS RETREATS:

ONE GENDER SING AND DANCE KIIRTANA, AND THE OTHER GENDER WILL DO SADHANA

Hence at our overseas sectorial retreats etc, a proper solution is needed. And the best example to follow is Baba’s. Here we have the opportunity to advance ahead by following the exact same approach which Baba Himself has approved. Namely, when males are dancing and singing kiirtana, then females can sit at a moderate distance and do sadhana. Thereafter, we can switch. Females will sing and dance kiirtana, and the males will be do sadhana.

On multiple accounts – i.e. for many reasons – alternating sadhana and kiirtana between males and females is in concert with Baba’s system. The main reason being that Baba Himself has guided us that we should do like this. And in His presence it was done in this very fashion, separately between males and females. And by that way the whole sanctity of the DMC was maintained – sentient and pure.

Thus, during our akhanda kiirtana program at sectorial retreats etc, then males and females can sing kiirtana separately or alternately, as described above. Then the problem of bumping into or touching members of the opposite sex will be eradicated.

Overall males and females can still participate in the same program in the same hall, but kiirtana would be sung and performed separately. In that way it would be consistent with the spirit of what was done during DMC and our other Ananda Marga programs.

ANOTHER BENEFIT:

GOSSIP TIME TURNS INTO SADHANA TIME

It is sometimes seen that some margiis & Wts skip their sadhana during this type of overseas-style akhanda kiirtana. Because just they were moving around the circle with members of the opposite sex, and after a while someone might leave the akhanda kiirtana – without doing sadhana. Just they casually walk away. They may go outside the hall and gossip, or attend to mundane activities, or go for sports or music rehearsal, or get food or have some snack. So after kiirtana they fail to do sadhana. And they miss out on all the benefits and the overall environment gets disturbed.

Any sadhaka more established in sixteen points etc does not do like this. But some few others haphazardly depart from the akhanda kiirtana circle and skip their sadhana.

So by adopting the sentient kiirtana system that is approved by Baba, then this problem of skipping meditation will be easily resolved since in the sentient style of kiirtana, sadhana is always done afterwards. That is Baba’s method.

Taken altogether, at our overseas akhanda kiirtana programs we should seriously consider refining our approach from rajasik to sentient. That will act as a special boon for one and all.

For all these reasons discussed above, it is clear that mixed gender akhanda kiirtana is tamasika because in so many various ways it degrades the mind.

KIIRTANA PLAYS A SPECIAL ROLE:

INCREMENTAL ELEVATION OF MIND

According to Baba, kiirtana plays one special role. It often happens that when one sits for sadhana the mind does not like to initially move in that direction. Some build-up is needed. It is just like if you want to climb the steps or drive your motorcycle then must progress systematically – immediately you cannot reach up to the 10th step and immediately you cannot put the motorcycle in the top gear. Rather one must proceed incrementally.

The same approach Baba has created with our spiritual practices. Because when the mind is involved in worldly things then starting sadhana instantaneously is not easy. So Baba has given different steps: bhajan, kiirtana, sadhana etc.

After singing bhajans the mind gets a little pointed and thereafter kiirtana is done. During bhajans people usually sit, but in kiirtana everyone stands up and dances; one’s whole existence becomes involved. The basic guideline is that during kiirtana all the organs are engaged. Aspirants are chanting the kiirtana mantra with their mouth, seeing Baba’s photo with their eyes, hearing the Baba-Nam-Kevalam mantra with their ears, plus the arms are raised in the air in surrenders and one’s feet are dancing according to the system to awaken and energise the sahasrara cakra.

In this way, all the limbs and organs are involved: the ears, mouth, hands, eyes etc. In this condition the mind has no scope to run away – and if it tries then it gets redirected and again focuses on the Goal. That is the specialty of kiirtana.

So if kiirtana is done independently or according to the system as practiced in India then fine, but in collective overseas kiirtana certain obstacles are created that hinder the entire kiirtana practice.

KIIRTANA IS TO PREPARE THE MIND FOR BETTER SADHANA

One other great benefit is that by doing kiirtana before sadhana, then sadhana will be greatly improved. In this way Baba guides us that after kiirtana sadhana should always be done. Because kiirtana is one special way to prepare the mind for sadhana.

“I have already said, and I repeat it again, that now the time has come to manifest the glory of kiirtana. And I also want to say further that those who wish to attain spiritual progress in their sadhana will have to do more and more kiirtana. By kiirtana, the mind becomes pure, and with this pure mind, one can do sadhana.” (4)

“kiirtana [is] the most essential aid for sadhana.” (5)

“If the mind is made pure even for five minutes by kiirtana, then if you do sadhana for only five minutes, your sadhana will be very good – you will surely attain spiritual progress.” (6)

By this, anyone can see that kiirtana is one special practice and if done properly then the mind gets purified; but if done incorrectly then that purification process does not occur. And one will also miss out on improving their sadhana – that will not occur.

SENSUOUS MIXING OF THE SEXES ON THE STAGE

When our entire Ananda Marga way of life is separated along gender lines, it is shameful that today we are allowing the free and sensuous mixing of the sexes on the stage during our RAWA cultural programs. This sets a bad example for those young dancers and thrusts them into the world of pseudo-culture. Plus it is degrading for the audience to watch. It is a negative scene from all directions.

And like this in all aspects of life in Ananda Marga, wherever we look or examine the situation it is clear that the activities and dealings is distinctly separate with regards to males and females.

BECAUSE IT ‘FEELS GOOD’ IS NO JUSTIFICATION

When people do something just because it “feels good” then often they have divorced themselves from higher ideals. Because only they do that thing because it “feels good” – they do not use their logic or rationality. But they continue ahead in their ways regardless. This may be the case with why in overseas sectors this mixed akhanda kiirtana between members of the opposite sex is going on.

“Whatever human beings do, motivated by A’tma-Sukha Tattva, is for the sake of pleasure. This principle of selfish pleasure rests on dogma…They observe that these dogmas are based on A’tma-Sukha Tattva; but they think, “I don’t care whether it does good or harm to others, because at last I have enjoyed some pleasure!” Being motivated by this idea, they enslave themselves to dogmas. In the civilized world, even educated people knowingly follow dogmas because they have a desire in the back of their minds to attain some mundane pleasure.” (7)

Those who follow atma-sukha tattva can never lead or serve the society.

KIIRTANA MAKES ONE VICTORIOUS

“Kiirtana is not only helpful in the realm of spirituality, but also in all spheres of life; it banishes physical troubles and tribulations as well. Kiirtana fights against all mundane difficulties and finally one becomes victorious.” (8)

ONE WHO DOES NOT DO THIS WASTES ONE’S LIFE

“He has given you your organs. Utilize them for Him. With your voice sing His name, His praise, His kiirtana. With your mind think of Him. One who does not do this wastes one’s life. And where people have only human frame but not human mind tell them this message.” (Ananda Vacanamrtam – 30, You Live According to God’s Desire)

MA IN 700 LANGUAGES WILL NOT MAKE IT

“The mind will have to be made one-pointed through sadhana, and the best means for achieving one-pointedness is kiirtana. Kiirtaniiyá sadá harih. Human beings should always do the kiirtana of the Lord. When one does kiirtana the mind becomes one-pointed within a short time. Then one sits for sadhana and while sitting there is progress, the mind becomes spotless, everything is gained. The human being will have to rush towards Parama Puruśa. Nobody can become a jinánii by reading books. A person earns real knowledge by rushing towards Parama Puruśa and coming into his close proximity, and one who earns this real knowledge attains liberation or salvation. For this, one who does not know their abc’s will make it, and one who has an MA in 700 languages will not make it. This is a different world, a different matter altogether. An intelligent person, therefore, will move forward single-mindedly on the path of sadhana, and in order to prepare his mind for sadhana that person will certainly do a little kiirtana. I have said this before in several places and I am saying it again: kiirtaniiyah sadá harih, that is, one must do the kiirtana of the Lord, the kiirtana of Parama Puruśa. And why must one do the kiirtana of Parama Puruśa? Because one of his names is Hari. Hari means: harati pápaḿ ityarthe harih, that is, he who steals the sins of the unit being is Hari.” (9)

ALL THE ORGANS ARE KEPT PREOCCUPIED WITH THE DIVINE

“When kiirtana was first invented, the psycho-philosophy behind it was this: at the time of kiirtana, the vocal cord sings, the ears hear, and the hands and feet dance, and thus all the organs are kept preoccupied with the divine. They are not allowed to move wherever they want but are kept engaged. There is a popular Indian superstition that when ghosts are not kept busy they break the necks of their prey. Similarly, if the sensory and motor organs are not kept engaged in the attainment of the divine, they may lead one astray. Kiirtana is therefore most beneficial as it keeps all the organs fully engaged in a spiritual pursuit. However, while doing kiirtan, if one listens to anything else, the mind will be diverted. Suppose, while doing kiirtana, one lady asks another, “Well sister, what did you cook today?” This will also be heard by the practitioners of kiirtana. To prevent these undesirable sounds from being heard, it is advisable to play some instrument during kiirtana. A mrdauṋga [a kind of drum] or some similar instrument should be used, but one should not play any heavy-sounding instrument like a d́hák [a large drum played with sticks], a d́hol [a loud drum] or a gong. The mind prefers to hear a sweet sound, like that of the mrdauṋga, than a harsh sound. Some time ago I mentioned that Bhola Mayra said that when the cookawing of crows and the beating of drums stop, human ears get some relief. People do not like to hear such harsh, unpleasant sounds. The sound of the mrdauṋga may not be perfect, but it has one quality: it is very sweet. Thus, whenever a distracted mind hears the sweet music of a mrdauṋga, it returns to the proper place. A remarkable science lies in kiirtana.” (10)

WHAT DO YOU GAIN BY DOING KIIRTANA?

“What do you gain by doing kiirtana? Several sense organs become engaged. The tongue is occupied. So during that time you won’t have thoughts like, “I will eat this, eat that;” no kind of greed will remain. The sense of taste and taste buds are obstructed. The ears are busy hearing the kiirtana, so they have no scope to go elsewhere. The mind is always thinking of that, so it also has no scope to go elsewhere. And if kiirtana is combined with dance then one’s attention is directed to the rhythm of the dance. As a result of the dance, hormones are secreted from the glands. So under no circumstances can the mind degenerate. There is no way for it to go down. This is the way of the wise.” (11)

KIIRTANA AVERTS THE DEGRADATION OF THE HUMAN MIND:

WHENEVER YOU FIND TIME, DO KIIRTANA LOUDLY

“Kiirtaniiyah sadáharih one should always sing the glory of the Lord. It is the frailty of human beings that when a few of them group together, they indulge in criticizing or mudslinging others. This leads to psychic degradation. In fact people should perform such actions which will lead to psychic elevation, actions which give the mind no scope for degeneration. The easiest way to do this is to sing the glories of the Supreme Entity whose very thought automatically elevates the mind. Chanting the name of Parama Puruśa aloud is called kiirtana; For, the vibration created in the atmosphere by kiirtana will influence others also. But if one’s mental ideation is conveyed only to Parama Puruśa without affecting other human beings, this is called bhajana. So bhajana is purely personal; it has no collective aspect. Kiirtana is more beneficial than bhajana, and hence it is said kiirtaniiyah sadá harih: whenever you find time, do kiirtana loudly and you will never become degenerated because by chanting the Lord’s holy name the mind remains elevated. Mudslinging and criticizing is thereby stopped forever, and hence kiirtana averts the degradation of the human mind. You should always remember that in every sphere of life – social, political, economic, psychic, and spiritual – you should always follow the principle of “taking the opposite stance”: there is no exception to this rule. Victory will surely be yours.” (12)

We should not follow the aforementioned tamasika akhanda kiirtana style but rather a sentient gender-separated manner of doing akhanda kiirtana.

The section below demarcated by asterisks is an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above material. It stands on its own as a point of interest.

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Way to Bring People into Ananda Marga

“Ánanda Márgiis should never compel people to follow Ánanda Márga philosophy. Rather, they should always inspire people along the path of spirituality by encouraging selfless service, sacrifice, good conduct, spiritual practices, the development of all-round knowledge, etc. Ananda Marga is a comprehensive mode of living based on spirituality, and in Ananda Marga sádhaná, dhyana and japa are Atmic or Dharmic jiivika.” (Prout in Nutshell – 16, Three Types of Occupation)

Note: In Ananda Marga, we do not subscribe to the policy of forced conversions; whereas, this approach is prevalent in many of the religions where they convert their prey under the pressure of the sword or by brute force. This is especially true of the Semitic religions. They did this in the past and they are doing at present also. In Ananda Marga, we do not support that modus operendii. Rather people come to accept Ananda Marga by their own free will and desire after understanding and learning the fundamentals. A similar approach should be taken with one’s own kids also. Do not force them to participate, rather logically convince them, little by little.
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Prabhat Samgiita 1103

PS Intro: Throughout Baba’s vast collection of Prabhat Samgiita, in most songs the devotee and Parama Purusa are communicating with one another. In some of the songs the style of conversation is direct while others are indirect. When the style of expression is indirect, no one should conclude that the sadhaka is having a conversation with another sadaka. That is not at all the case. Rather, the bhakta is communicating with Parama Purusa – using indirect language.

In the below song, in the first two stanzas the sadhaka is indirectly talking to Parama Purusa. The sadhaka is expressing his feelings and referring to Parama Purusa in the third person – yet all along he understands that Parama Purusa is there – listening. It is only in the third stanza, the sadaka is addressing all of creation, with the knowledge that Parama Purusa is also listening.

“Dharmo a’ma’ri sa’thii, dharmo a’ma’ri pra’n’…” (PS 1103)

Purport:

Dharma is my eternal companion; dharma is my very life. I only accept and follow Parama Purusa Himself because I am His gift. He alone has graciously blessed me with human life. He alone has granted me my existence. It is His grace.

Since the first dawn of my life, He has been with me each and every step – in my every breath, watching, guiding, and protecting me. And only He will remain along with me until the final moment of my life. I always follow His path – His teachings – never forgetting His blessing.

O’ inhabitants of the three worlds – wherever you may be – go on singing and dancing, immersed in His divine name. Remain ensconced in His ideation – in His sweet flow, and go on singing His divine songs, i.e. singing His glory.

O’ Parama Purusa, O’ Baba, You are my eternal companion. You are always with me. Baba, I love You…

Note: In the above song, dharma means Parama Purusa. They are one and the same. Parama Purusa has countless names to reflect His infinite qualities and attributions – one of which is Dharma itself.

Namaskar,
I am now above forty five years of age, have cared for three young sisters, have a wife and sister-in-law, and have interacted with so many girls who were my classmates. I know today that gossip across the sexes and too much intermingling, especially between young males and females, always creates a devastating story.

I have personally seen what happens with those who gossip and intermingle too much with the opposite sex. So many boys and girls become emotionally attached which results either in (a) sexual involvement or (b) they face terrible emotional tragedy and heartache.

In both cases, the prana dharma of the individual is disturbed and the situation and atmosphere becomes negative for ideological activity.

In that era of old, Buddhism had the full support of so many strong kings including the great King Ashoka and the Indian populace was also Buddhist. But since there was no separate system for male sadhus and female nuns, a terrible problem of infatuation between sadhus and nuns literally destroyed the prana dharma of Buddhism. That culminated in the end of Buddhism in India.

Since our psychology has been weaved by the LORD Himself, He has clearly given instructions about the separate system for males and females. By that guideline, He is alerting us to the painful downfall that meets those who mix freely with the opposite sex.

If we continue to allow our youths involved in Rawa programmes to go against Baba’s mandate, then there will be a terrible price to pay. At present, under Mrinal Pathak’s direction, there is far too much loose behaviour related with our Rawa programmes – both on the stage and off of it.

We should all let it be known to the organisers that we will not tolerate a repeat performance at this coming DMS.

COMMON AMONGST ALL THE GROUPS

Unfortunately, this type of degrading display in RAWA programmes is common to all the groups. Intermingling among boys and girls in the name of a RAWA programme is not group centric. This is a pan-group activity. I know that in Faridabad Third Front (EC) organised this same kind of programme with the help of B Group.

B group also organises this same kind of programme in Delhi annually. Even from 1991 to 2003, before the time of division into various factions, this same kind of programme was happening in DMS. After 2003 when third front was with Ranchi this same programme was being organised during DMS.

In fact no single group is considering it wrong. In fact, it seems these group leaders are (a) either not aware or (b) do not bother, or (c) do not sense it as problem.

Moreover, it is possible that they are having competition to do more glamorous.

Whatever the reason, this type of degrading display and activity surround RAWA programmes must come to an end. Rational margiis and wts are rallying to bring this to a close. It cannot be tolerated any longer – prakrti will not allow it.

BABA’S GUIDELINES:

MALE – FEMALE RELATIONS

As a reminder, here is what our Sadguru Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji guide us about RAWA and our cultural programmes:

Baba says, “Men and women should not jointly participate in theatrical performances.” (Caryacarya-1)

Baba says, “It should be remembered that a woman’s friend is a woman and a man’s friend is a man. The more distant the relationship between men and women, the greater should be the courtesy maintained in mutual conversation and behaviour between them.” (Caryacarya-1)

According to Baba, our cultural programs must be consistent with Ananda Marga ideals and must be of a requisite standard. Baba Himself has told what constitutes a real RAWA program: That which goads the mind toward a higher ideal. Baba critically warns us not to allow our Rawa programmes to fall prey to debased approaches. Our standard is far above.

Baba says, “If art or literature is created around the base propensities of the human mind, people will naturally gravitate towards it in large numbers, and the creators of such literature will earn a great deal of money from it; indeed, this is the only aim of their artistic creation. Engaged in the quest of evil, obscenity and vulgarity, they also [like the rightists] lose sight of the primary goal of art.” (A Few Problems Solved – 1, The Practice of Art and Literature)

MORE ABOUT TODAY’S RAWA PROGRAMS UNDER MRINAL PATHAK

It has been an ongoing concern that adolescent boys and girls – as well as young unmarried males and females – openly mix and mingle in preparing & performing Rawa programmes at DMS under the direction of Mrinal Pathak.

A more descriptive portrayal of this is appended in note 1, beneath my signature.

I have thought at length about past articles on this matter, and also watched Pathak’s activity along with all his team – boys and girls in DMS. One solution is to have girls play the role of males in girls performances, as needed; and have boys play the role of females in boys performances. That would eliminate the mixing of the sexes amongst our yoga and provide a safer, more stable atmosphere.

As things are happening now, under Mrinal Pathak’s guidance and supervision, there is far too much loose behaviour etc.

I have personally known Mrinal Pathak and his family for the last 25 years. So there is a long history here.

EVERYTHING IS SEPARATE IN ANANDA MARGA

We have to remember that Baba has arranged life in Ananda Marga where we we maintain our sanctity by adhering to certain codes of conduct, not by compromising with our values. In the realm of male-female relations, our proper standard is separation, not free and sensuous mixing of the sexes.

Baba has mandated that everything in Ananda Marga should be separate: For example WWD, our relief activities (AMURTL), reportings, social service projects, LFT trainings, etc. There are all separate along gender lines.

Here is a more complete list for your review:

1. Jagrtis are not shared between males and females for staying over or for office work.
2. Co-education is not practiced with students above 8 or 10 years of age, i.e. or above the age of puberty.
3. During dharmacakra, seminar, and classes, sadhana is done in distinctly different rows.
4. The organisation itself has an entire separate wing for females, WWD or Women’s Welfare Department.
5. Prout, AMURT, VSS etc also have separate sections for males and females.
6. Reporting is done separately.
7. LFT, Tattvika, and Acarya training is separate for males and females.
8. In-Charges are not mixed. Males are in-charges of males and females of females.
Note: Only in Central Office will the head of WWD be controlled by the General Secretary.
9. During DMS, kaoshikii was also performed separately. And still this practice is maintained for DMS.
10. Females do guard duty for females, and males for males; it is not mixed.
11. Akhanda kiirtana is done in a separate manner.
12. Madhur sadhana is done according to gender, not with the opposite sex.
13. In any gathering, females & males do not participate together for games and sports.
14. All public processions are organised keeping males and females separate
15. And there are so many systems in place that ensure strict separation of the sexes.

Thus, when our entire Ananda Marga way of life is separated along gender lines, it is shameful that today we are allowing the free and sensuous mixing of the sexes on the stage during our RAWA cultural programs. This sets a bad example for those young dancers and thrusts them into the world of pseudo-culture. Plus it is degrading for the audience to watch. It is a negative scene from all directions.

Namaskar,
in Him,
Anandasharan

Note 1: WHAT HAPPENED AT THE DANCE PROGRAM

Here it should be understood that Mr Pathak earns his livelihood by directing dance / dramas for the general society. This is how he earns his food; so he is well-accustomed to creating programs that suit the Hollywood taste of the common public. That means he regularly uses 16-21 year-old boys and girls in his programs. And he encourages them to dance and sing together. Mr. Pathak’s shows are designed in the ways of Bollywood and Hollywood. There is an open degree of sensuality in his performances.

For example, at his recently displayed performances at Ananda Nagar in May 2012:

(a) All females aged 16-21 danced with their mid-section uncovered. That means the entire region from just above their waist to just below their chest was completely bare.

(b) All males aged 16-21 danced with their entire top exposed, from the waist up. Males were only wearing a dhoti; their upper body was fully naked.

(c) These males and females – or young men and women – were dancing on the stage together, holding and touching one another, according to the role of their characters. In that way they were in each other’s grasp.

Everyone is aware that per the Ananda Marga system, adult males and females should not dance together on the stage; indeed, no females should dance in front of a male audience. That is just one unfortunate scene. And our RAWA stage is not a night-club, where all kinds of sensual acts are put on display

(d) The males also had shaved all the hair from their underarm; it was visible to all. This contravenes Baba’s guidelines of 16 points, i.e. “Do not cut the hair of the joints of the body.” This gives the wrong message to the audience.

(e) Amazingly, the theme of the show was how youths prepare their mind to become avadhutas and avadhutikas. Yet, in reality, the entire program only served to goad people’s minds toward sensuality – not towards divinity. Our RAWA programs should goad the mind from muladhara cakra to the sahasara cakra – not sahasrara to muladhara. So see what Mr Pathak’s dance program did – that is the irony. (DMS News: Uncultured Dance in Cultural Program, posted 6/10/12)

Note 2: HUMAN MOVEMENT AND RAWA:

TOWARDS THE SUBTLE SPHERE

Baba says, “Then again, you are not merely an animal: simply eating, drinking and sleeping is not everything for a human. A human has a subtler life, a more charming life, a more fascinating life, so your physical existence moves towards your psychic existence, and this movement is your [quest] for higher life, your [quest] for subtler life, that is, your physico-psychic movement, starting from the physical level and moving towards the psychic level. Your physico-psychic activities are architecture, literature, dance, music – they are all your physico-psychic movement. And this movement is from crude to subtle, starting from the cruder arena and moving towards the subtler arena. That’s why in Ananda Marga I encourage this physico-psychic movement: because it will help you in moving towards the subtler world, in moving towards the supreme spiritual goal.”

“Then the third human [movement] is on the pure psychic level. Your thought-waves, your subtler thoughts, your aesthetic tastes, they are all your psychic movement. For physico-psychic movement, I encourage boys and girls to start work in the RAWA [Renaissance Artists’ and Writers’ Association] movement. You know, to work in RAWA, high-grade intellect is not necessary. But for pure psychic movement, pure psychic development, higher intellect is necessary. And in that realm also humans are to be encouraged, because it is even subtler than physico-psychic movement – it is pure psychic movement. And for that I encourage the intellectuals of Ananda Marga to form RU [Renaissance Universal] Clubs. Let there be psychic development, let there be clashes and cohesions in the realm of intellect. This will help a person to move from crude to subtle. This is the third expression of the human actional faculty.” (Ananda Vacanamrtam – 30, Human Expressions and Human Movements)

Note 3: LINK TO PRIOR LETTER

(Note: The above email is in follow up to the thread titled, “DMS News: Uncultured Dance in Cultural Program.” Below is a link to the most recent letter of that thread. – Eds)

Baba, that night I was sleeping deeply in one solitary corner of my house, which was submerged in the cimmerian darkness. And that very night
the front door of my house was bolted shut. No one knocked to come inside.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, one divine Entity graciously took advent in my room. With a sonorous and beautiful voice He sweetly told me, ‘Awake, arise, how long will you sleep. Since ages you have been in slumber. Now take a look around – look towards Me’.

Baba, I did not unbolt nor open the door, even then You are here next to me in my room. O’ my most adorable One, my mind fails to conceive how
charming and beautiful You are. Baba, I feel in my heart that Your divine splendor and glory cannot be expressed in words. You are beyond all logic
and reasoning. Baba, my mind fails to comprehend the greatness of Your grandeur. I do pranam to You an infinite number of times.

Baba, with Your boundless love You have come to me and showered Your grace…

END NOTE FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #3930:

In the above scene, the sadhaka was in a drowsy state of mind; he was not even aware about his own condition. His mind was not working in a pointed way. In such a circumstance, there was an urgent need to get some guidance from the Guru. Usually we see that people do not readily realise the advent of Parama Purusa in their practical life. Only when Guru reveals His identity to such people and invites their attention by internally pulling their heart, then to some degree they are able to recognise Him. In response, they take initiation and try to lead a dharmic life.
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Namaskar,
On and off again, the topic has come to the fore about how to teach our margii children and other young ones about our Ananda Marga theory of creation – i.e. how this grand universe has come into existence.

Because at some point, invariably questions arise in the minds of our youths – in the minds of our children: They wonder, ‘who am I’, ‘where have I come from’, ‘what is this universe’ etc. And our Ananda Marga creation theory answers all these doubts and queries in a very comprehensive and fulfilling way.

WHY & HOW WE SHOULD RAISE THIS TOPIC

Next we must consider: When and how should we guide our children about our Ananda Marga creation theory.

Should we wait until our children reach a certain age when they can understand philosophy, grasp abstruse concepts of “Idea & Ideology”, and comprehend challenging topics like jadasphota, shambhuliunga, sadrsha parin’a’ma etc?

Otherwise, when and how should we approach this topic with our kids.

After all, this is an everyday reality for most of us: What is the best way to guide our children. Because inevitably, either on the home-front, in school, or on the internet, this important topic of creation will be raised. And if we do not give a reply – or if our reply is not satisfactory to their ears – then our children will get the ‘lesson’ elsewhere.

If don’t teach our children from where they have come, then they are bound to learn from the general society that human beings are just bones, flesh, and blood – nothing more.

That is why many margii parents, acaryas, neo-humanistic teachers, and sadhakas have concluded that, ‘Yes, we should teach Ananda Marga creation theory to our children’; and, one of the best ways is to emulate the exact manner in which Baba Himself has explained it to His simple devotees.

The content of this letter is based on Baba’s original Hindi discourse delivered in one general darshan in Patna (1965) where He explained Ananda Marga creation theory in very easy-to-understand language.

Here then is some of the groundwork that can be used to help formulate our primary school curriculum regarding the topic: ‘How did this universe come into existence?’.

Once again, the whole import of this discussion is ‘why’ & ‘how’ Parama Purusa created this vast cosmological order.

PARAMA PURUSA WAS ALL ALONE

In the very beginning, Parama Purusa was all alone. There was no one with whom He could play. He was not surrounded by anything or anyone. There was darkness all around – indeed in the absence of anything there was just a vast dark void emanating in all directions. There was absolutely nothing at all, anywhere.

Certainly we all know that when we are completely isolated and have no company, no playmates, and no one to talk to, and are all alone in the house, then we will become very, very lonely. Such was the condition of Parama Purusa. To remove that loneliness, He decided to create something – someone – with whom He could love play.

It is just like if there are children in the house, then the family life in that household becomes colourful & vibrant. Because those children will laugh and they will cry; they will sing and they will dance. And sometimes a child also comes with a problem or needing help in some way; and on other occasions a young one cries out loudly and says, ‘Dad, I want this, or Mom
I need that’.

Having children brings warmth, joy, and, most importantly, transforms life itself into an intimate family experience where there is lots of sharing, caring, & companionship. In which case one will no longer be alone or feel lonely.

WHAT WILL BE THE INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING ONE UNIVERSE

To break the monotony, Parama Purusa had to create something – someone with whom to play. But to create anything, materials are needed.

It is just like if anyone wants to make some toys, then some material is needed such as clay, plastic, rubber, wood – something is needed from which to make those toys.

Similarly, Parama Purusa needed something with which to make His creation; some ingredients were needed to make something – to make one universe. Yet there was nothing around – only there was Parama Purusa and nothing else. Besides Him, there was no one; He was all alone. Then how could He create anything? Because, besides Him, there was nothing. In that case, He had to use part of His own mind.

Thus to create something, Parama Purusa kept away some portion of His own mind: He put that portion of His mind away at a distance. Because without putting away part of His mind, material could not be created.

For that reason, step by step, Parama Purusa began putting away part of His mind.

THE PROCESS OF SAINCARA: PUTTING HIS MIND AWAY

One might then ask, ‘Why did He have to put part of His mind away’ – ‘Why did He have to set it aside’. ‘What was the need to do that?’

The answer is that if He did not put some portion of His mind away, then it could not become made into material – it would just remain unexpressed as pure consciousness. Yet some type of material was needed in order to create something tangible with which He could play.

For this reason Parama Purusa had to set aside some part of His mind. Otherwise it would be impossible to make any toys – jiivas and inanimate objects etc – i.e. any of the creation.

So He put aside part of His mind and it was transformed into material: The specialty of this process is that the further away Parama Purusa put away His mind, the more dense it became.

Accordingly, that portion of His mind that was placed just a short distance away from Him was comparatively less dense, and it became the ethereal factor. And that part of His mind that was put a little further away was more dense so it became the aerial factor. And that portion of His mind that was even further away became the luminous quality – because it was more dense. And when He put His mind still further away it became more dense and was the liquid factor. Until finally He pushed some portion of His mind very far away and that became the solid factor. And this is the most dense factor – reason being that it is furthest away from Parama Purusa. And this entire process of making material is known as: saincara.

So His process of saincara is the process of making the material – toys and beings – with which to play. And in this process of saincara, He creates the painca bhutas, or 5 fundamental factors: ethereal, aerial, luminous, liquid, and solid.

And why does He do this? Why did He embark on this process of saincara? To prepare material to create His toys, i.e. living and non-living beings.

THE PROCESS OF PRATISAINCARA: BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME

After so many inanimate objects were created by placing some part of His mind away from Him via the process of saincara, then came the task of bringing those things back close to Him. For that to occur, unit mind was created.

This is the transition point – the turning point. Because the process of going away from Parama Purusa is known as saincara. And when things are at the farthest point away from Him then they are in a solid, inanimate state.

This then is the juncture point, whereby finally the unit mind is created and the cycle of creation switches its direction back towards Him.

Here, in this reversal, the formula is that the closer Parama Purusa brought things back towards Him the more developed those beings became. So in this sequence, He brought some creatures just a little bit closer and these slightly developed living beings were in the form plants and insects etc – i.e. creatures that have a very basic mind. And then those beings which He pulled closer to Him were a little more developed such as various animals like goats and sheep – and then those animals which were brought even closer to Him were still more developed such as dogs and monkeys etc.

Until He finally brought some entities very close to Him and those are known as human beings. And the human mind is more developed and more refined since humans are very close to Parama Purusa – until one day, He sweetly draws those sadhakas so close that they actually become one with Him. And, this entire process of returning back to Him is known as pratisaincara.

THE CREATED UNIVERSE

In this manner, by this dual approach of saincara and pratisaincara, Parama Purusa formed an entire universe and He began to slowly fill that universe with innumerable things: forests, rivers, mountain, planets, stars, plants, animals, human beings – so many things & so many beings. And gradually, by His grace, all those things return unto Him.

WE ARE ALL PART OF HIM & LONG FOR HIM

So by this whole picture, by this whole scene of saincara and pratisaincara, it is easily understood that all are part and parcel of Him. Everything and everyone – inanimate objects, flora, fauna, developed creatures, and human beings – is the expression of Parama Purusa. We are all part of that same universal cosmic family. All have been created by Him. He loves all; He is everyone’s Creator; He is the Divine Father. All have come from Him.

Hence, knowingly or unknowingly, all love Parama Purusa as He is the source and all desire to return back to Him – all want to reach Him, just like a small infant has a deep desire to cling tightly to its mother. Similarly all humans love Parama Purusa and desire to be with Him, since He is the Divine Father and all are part of His mind – all are His children.

And this love which humans have for Him is not unilateral. As much as you love Him and long to be with Him, in an even deeper & greater way He loves you and longs to be close to you. Thousands and millions of times more, Parama Purusa loves you. Because after all you are part of His mind. That is why He is called your greater ‘I’ – and this greater ‘I” is one for everybody.

So the whole scene is quite an intimate affair. We are all part of Him and long for Him and Parama Purusa feels us to be His very own and constantly showers His infinite love on us.

at His feet,
Karunanidhi

Note 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF STORY

Before they reach puberty, kids do not like logic and reasoning; they enjoy grand stories and imaginative tales. Every parent and educator must keep this in mind when sharing the theory of creation with young kids.

Note 2: ABOUT PARAMA PURUSA BEING ALL ALONE

“My Parama Purusa was all alone. How painful it must have been to remain in this terrible loneliness. It was no joke for Him to suffer horrible loneliness. When left alone in an empty house anyone would become extremely restless for company. My Parama Puruśa was in such a condition. He had the capacity to see and hear everything, to administer over all, to play with all, to love and scold all, but since there was no other entity, He was deprived of this happiness. Just to rid Himself of this oppressive loneliness He thought to Himself, “I will become many.” And He became many, for He has one rare occult power: prakámya. That is, everything takes shape as per His desire. He wanted to become many and He became many. In this way His divine sport has been going on eternally. Thus it has been said, Ánandáddhyeva khalvimáni bhútáni jáyante [“Out of bliss all beings were born”]. He has created jiivas, created this universe, for the sake of joy alone. Ánandena játáni jiivanti – “these living beings also want to live for ánandam alone.” ” (Namami Krsnasundaram, Disc: 25)

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

“Toma’y ceye toma’y bheve din ye cale ja’y a’ma’r…” PS 2107

Purport:

Baba, O’ my dearmost, my days are passing just thinking about You and looking towards You; in this way my life is passing me by, under Your divine shelter. Baba it is so painful that You do not look towards me – nor do You listen to the feeling of my heart. Baba, in this terrible situation please tell me what can I do to get You. Please grace me.

Baba, by Your grace, at any cost I will surely get You. Baba, You are my polestar. Since the beginning – since the origin – of my life I have been Yours; and up to eternity I will be Yours. Baba, by Your grace, I will surely get You. Even when I was sunk in cimmerian darkness my heart was filled with Your love. During that hopeless period, by Your grace I was also thinking at I am Yours.

Baba, although the lotus is a just little flower, even then it loves the vast sun. In spite of its meagre-self, the little lotus loves that big entity, the sun. In the same way, I love You with my full heart. And now my heart is burning with the fire of longing for You. Indeed, remaining away from You is unbearable for me. Baba, please grace me and come close…

Namaskar,
“Didi Ananda Giita has been looking after her own laokik father and keeps him in a Didi’s jagrti…

Our dedicated Wt Didis are not to have contact with their laokik family. To stop their missionary work and address worldly family matters is not at all appropriate for our Wts…

Didi Ananda Giita must not get involved in the life affairs of her worldly father. That runs contrary to our wt code of conduct.

When this very senior Didi Ananda Giita does like this then naturally she is extending “an open invitation” for all junior Didis to involve with their laokik families. In short, this sets a very bad example as it directly encourages others to go against Baba’s stated conduct rule. And that is what is going on. Countless junior Didis are in constant communication with their laokik families – giving them money, Ananda Marga resources and giving and receiving emotional support. Didi Ananda Niitimaya is not the only one who has fallen in this way…

Make no mistake – the problem is rampant. And it all started and got reinforced at the top with respected Didi Ananda Giita…

The Ananda Giita faction is currently riddled by turmoil. The leader herself – respected Didi Ananda Giita – ignores Baba’s rule and now all the junior Didis are following her poor example.

Yet, Didi Ananda Giita gives special treatment to her laokik father by having him live on a didi’s master unit. She arranged this specially for him. Yet it is known by all that males are not to live or be treated in a Didi’s jagrti or MU. But Ananda Giita imposed this and crossed the gender boundary because of her deep attachment to her laokik father.

And this created a cascading effect.”

I have been extremely busy and am just now getting caught up on my emails. But I am aware about this problem of Wt’s being heavily involved with their laokik families. Here I have a few more cases to add, as well as more info on respected Didi Ananda Giita.

THE CASE OF LIILABODHANANDJI

Many may be aware about Dada Liilabodhananda: He invests big money in multi-story buildings such as apartments & related construction projects across India. He has invested more then 10 million rupees (1+ crore, or 100+ lakhs), and he also has big business interests in other fields. The result: Dada Liilabodhananda has a grand flat for retirement in Mumbai – for he and his laokik family. Plus he has been sending huge monies to his laokik family in north Bihar for years and years. They are now rich. Why has no one opposed Dadaji? Because he is a big-time hitman for VSS so everyone is scared to say anything to him for fear of the repercussions.

THE CASE OF NITYSHIVANANDJI

Dada Nityashivananda is posted in Australia, but his laokik home is Indor (MP). Dada’s laokik sister is employed as a private primary school teacher and makes little money. Dadaji’s laokik brother is an electrical handyman. Thus it became Nityashivananda’s “responsibility” to make his worldly family wealthy.

By his help they have upgraded their economic status. They have purchased flats in multi-story buildings costing 16 lakhs rupees.

Various margiis were wondering how a financially poor family got so much money so suddenly. Now everyone understands how this happened. Dadaji has been bank-rolling everything for his laokik family. They have all become rich.

SHORT REFLECTION

So the cases of Liilabodhanandji and Nityashivanandji clearly depict how some dadas are deeply involved with their laokik families and doing all kinds of things for them, especially on points of acquiring money, wealth, and property.

RESPECTED DIDI ANANDA GIITA:

DECADES NEGLECT OF AVADHUTIKA RULES

Now I would like to bring more of the history on respected Didi Ananda Giita because she has a long history of being with her laokik father. This is not a new development that happened only recently when her worldly father became so ill. This is an ongoing situation – here is the background. Various Wts have shared this with me and now I pass it along to you.

In Kolkata, there was a respected lady named Sonia didi. She was a great bhakta and she was caring for home children for a long time. Eventually, Sonia Didi purchased a small piece of land near our Tiljala ashram in Kolkata. And on that piece of land she made a two-story building.

She was running a children’s home in the same building. On the ground floor, Didi Ananda Madhunicanda’ was residing along with home children. One level up on the first floor, Sonia didi was living along with Didi Ananda Sampurna didi.

Things were carrying on in this way.

Then in 1997, when Ananda Giita’s laokik mother passed away, then her laokik father was broken down and became disturbed and weak. That time respected Ananda Giita Didi was global worker (CWWS). She herself, or by her order, had her laokik father brought to Sonia Didi’s house in Kolkata.

So Didiji’s laokik father was residing on the ground floor along with others in the same building. His food was also coming from the didi ashram (WWD). From 1997 to 2003 this was a routine and this was known to all workers.

In 2003, there was break in the organisation. Since Giita didi became CWWS of Rudrananda’s side, so she was not allowed to reside in the Tiljala WWD jagrti. So she shifted her base from the jagrti to the house of Sonia didi. Hence, Didi Ananda Giita Didi was residing in 1st Floor and her laokik father on ground floor. This house became her chief residence and her Kolkata office – and at the same time this is where her laokik father was also being cared for.

From 2003 onward, whenever Ananda Giita didi was supposed to come to Kolkata, she was always staying in Sonia Didi’s house along with her laokik father. People say she was visiting Kolkota frequently because of her love and attachment for her laokik father. This type of emotional and financial support went on for years, decades – and it is still going on.

Then in 2010, her laokik father was brought to Umeria MU, which is just 18 km from Raipur. (Here it should be noted that her laokik father’s home property was in Lodhipara, Station Road, Raipur, Chatisgarh.)

People raised the question that if he was supposed to be cared why was her laokik father not brought to Umeria earlier, as that is closer to his Raipur home.

Now we know the answer. Didi Ananda Giita herself was in Kolkata back in 1997 and onwards, and she desired to have her laokik father there with her.
This is information that is known to many – it is not a secret and cannot be covered up.

So this whole ordeal with her worldly father is in its third decade – at least. From the 1990’s, all throughout the first decade of the new millennium, and then in this present decade.

FOR THEIR WELL-BEING

I write this letter with the welfare of these wts in mind: Liilabodhanandji, Nityashivanandji, and senior-most Ananda Didi. They should mend their ways and save themselves from the ghastly attack of avidya maya. Otherwise they will be forced to undergo negative pratisaincara and pass through plant and animal life all over again. All because they broke their oaths and conduct rules and set a very harmful example by giving financial support to their laokik family.

Here we must remember that for an avadhutika, avadhuta and any wt, they have taken an oath: Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji is everything, my Father, my Mother, my Brother, my Sister, and all my relations. There is none other than He. This is the spirit of the oath.

Thus, as wholetimers, they have only one family: The entire universe is their family. In contrast, grhiis or family people have two families: The big universal family, and their small worldly family.

So there is no question then of Wts being in contact with their laokik relations etc. They have given and dedicated their all to Baba. Breaking this oath is not good.

FINAL REFLECTION

Who learned from whom I do not know. Did Liilabodhanandji and Nityashivanandji learn these tricks from respected Didi Ananda Giita, or vice-versa. I cannot say. But this much is clear. Wt involvement with their laokik families is a contagious and harmful disease these days in Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha.

Baba, by Your grace, everyone comes on this earth to do Your work. Everyone has come here to chant Your holy name. Baba, this earth, Your land, is filled with Your divine effulgence. It is for everyone; it is for everyone.

Baba, since eternity You have been my Dearmost. Baba whatever way You want to keep me in Your shelter, I accept – whether that be in tears or smiles. Whatever You like, You give; that will be best for me. From my side, those things which I have lovingly prepared with my full heart to offer (arghya [1]) at Your lotus feet, please accept them.

Baba, You were mine and You will be mine up to eternity; I am also Yours – forever, trika’l [2]. Baba, in this universe we all dance around You by Your grace. You are the focal point; in the end everyone will finally merge into You.

Baba, Your world is for all – for all. Your shelter is for all…

END NOTES FOR PRABHAT SAMGIITA #4767:

[1] Trika’l: The prefix ‘tri’ means ‘three’; and the stem ‘ka’l’ means ‘time’. Hence trika’l refers to the three phases of time: Past, present, and future.

[2] Arghya: The term arghya means ‘offering’ though more specifically it refers to that offering which is purely psychic or mental in nature – the
offerings of the mind. In contrast to offer those things which are physical in nature is nirma’ly. Hence in the above song since the term arghya is used, the sadhaka is offering all his mental colours and longings at the lotus feet of Guru. The sadhaka is offering all the love of his heart to his Lord. Thus the devotee’s offering is purely psychic or psycho-spiritual in nature. Whereas the offering done to various gods and goddesses in the dogmatic religions is called nirma’ly since on those occasions those followers are offering physical objects like food, incense, animals etc. Baba has outlined this distinct difference between arghya and nirma’ly in a few different discourses.

(Note: This is the second letter in this series. A link to the first letter is appended below. – Eds)

Namaskar,

“I recall when Baba was living in Lake Gardens and Prabhat Samgiita was regularly sung to celebrate His arrival. Indeed, in those days, many times I went to see Baba in Lake Gardens. I remember that a few minutes before Baba was to come from His room, without delay the the singing of Prabhat Samgiita would start. We would all be outside, standing around His car, singing – waiting for Him. When finally Baba would exit the house to go on fieldwalk, all the Dadas and margiis were encircling that area to see Baba, singing Prabhat Samgiita. This was the usual routine.

Then Baba would graciously accept the mala and bless various margiis. Sometimes also He used to talk for a few minutes and give some guidelines. Of course all these customs He would do in a very charming manner. This was the normal scene when He was in the process to go out for His fieldwalk. Finally He would get into the car and take His seat, and the car would leave.” (Story: Baba’s Divine Reception, posted 30 Sep 2012)

By reading this, that entire scene flashed in my mind – how beautiful and devotional it was. I remember it vividly.

Baba would be upstairs in His room and VSS suddenly would inform us that Baba was getting ready and would be coming in a few minutes. Then all margiis and wts would stop whatever they were doing and quickly crowd around the entrance of the house, waiting for Beloved Baba to appear. The whole environment was charged with the sweet longing of seeing Him.

Already the driver had the car parked to that spot where Baba would come out from the house. And we would all anxiously crowd around and encircle the automobile – positioning ourselves in any way we could to see Baba when He would emerge from the house. All were involved in singing Prabhat Samgiita – everyone’s mind totally vibrated with a strong desire to see Him. With this great anticipation and devotional longing, we would sing Prabhat Samgiita and look anxiously for His divine arrival.

When we sensed that Baba would soon be coming, the devotional feeling would be even more aroused – all wishing to see Him. Finally, the divine moment arrived and He would grace us with His divine presence. He was always so sweet and charming. On many occasions, Baba would graciously stand there to talk and say something. The car was ready and the door open for Him to get in, yet Baba would grace us by moving slowly to grant us time to gaze at Him. With His beautiful countenance, He would stand there inquiring about our welfare or giving some direction, and we would cherish each and every moment with Him before He would have to enter to car and go for fieldwalk. It was such a blissful scene – even today I can recall every moment in my mind’s eye, by His grace.

Upon His return a similar scene would occur. Once the gate to the driveway opened and we knew Baba’s car was returning then we would quickly rush in and line up along the edges of the driveway. Whatever activities, duties, talks or dealings were going on stopped immediately. All were eager to get a spot to see Him. The excitement and vibration was palpable. So everyone came rushing, yet there was not much space along the driveway. There had to be enough room for His car to pass, yet all wanted to be close. Some we all managed to grab a sacred space – along that tiny area along the side of the driveway – in hopes of seeing Him. We would all anticipate His arrival, singing Prabhat Samgiita and watching for His car come in from the road.

What a divine liila it was!

Finally, He would grace us with His presence – while singing we would carefully watch Him emerge from His car. In this way we would receive Him. All were singing and some were devotionally calling and crying, “Baba, Baba, Baba. ” The whole scene was so charged with love and devotion.

It was always so enchanting to be there to receive Baba those days.

Still this divine scene is unfolding in the heart and mind of each and every devotee. In dhyana we call for Him to come close and grace us with His presence. As beautiful as it was to be there those days, often I feel that receiving Him now in Guru cakra is even more sweet. Without all the external obstacles, one can openly share and express the feeling of the heart with Him – and always He responds.

Baba, You are the most Gracious One. Age and ages passed in longing for You. After a long span of time, in the end, I have gotten You. Baba, You have graced me. It is very difficult to realise and understand Your divine play. In this liila You were keeping me in dark – so I could not come close to You.

In the morning, I was thinking that by my own interest and effort all day long I should do all sorts of works; I was foolishly thinking this is my greatness. At midday, You told me and made me realise that without Your grace even a blade of grass cannot move. That time I understood the foolish way in which I was thinking.

Baba, by Your grace – by Your karuna – this earth is revolving. All the seasons come and go. Clouds bring rain and this happens because of Your grace. By Your grace, the stars glitter in the sky and the air moves in the atmosphere. Everything happens because of Your grace. Baba, Your grace is everything.

By following jinan and karma people always lose their path. Such jinanis and karmiis degenerate – if they do not ultimately follow the devotional path. Baba, Your love is eternal. Those who love You never get defeated. Ultimately they reach You by Your grace.

Baba, because of Your grace everything happens. Baba, You are the quintessence…

Namaskar,
We know, and Baba has told us again and again, that life is not always smooth. One’s progress and movement is systaltic in nature – up and down. So there will always be highs and lows. Everyone will experience such patterns in their life.

This below Baba story is not just the recounting of a very devotional and tantric period in our AM history, but also a practical method for how we are to proceed in day to day life.

THOSE DAYS IN 1971 IN PATNA

Those pre-emergency days in 1971 in Patna, Baba was vigorously preparing everyone for the difficulties that lay ahead. He was teaching so many do’s and don’ts and then checking those things as only a Sadguru can. The scene was both riveting and exciting, as well as full of love and bliss.

Baba, of course, did not say openly that the whole world would turn on Ananda Marga and that we would all be persecuted and put in jail. Only He hinted that there will be a time when the number of margiis will be few and Ananda Margiis will not be accepted etc. Baba was also telling margiis to start stocking extra food in the homes, schools, and jagrtis.

Hearing this though, no one was worried. We all knew that Baba was the Parama Purusa and we rightly felt that nothing could harm us. We heard Baba’s gentle warnings about the future but at the same time we did not really listen.

It is just like if the weather is perfect outside – the sun is shining, there is a gentle breeze, and there is not a cloud in the sky – then if someone says that a cyclone is coming, few, if any, will take it seriously.

Same was the case with us back in 1971. Baba was there and that was enough. We could not think that such difficult days were coming. Trouble was around no doubt, but so was He and that was enough to satisfy us and think that everything would be fine.

HOW BABA LOVINGLY PREPARED US

In the Jamalpur days, Baba graciously gave yama and niyama for our conduct and dealing – for our betterment. In that phase He, of course, also delivered so many philosophical gems like Elementary Philosophy, Idea and Ideology, Ananda Sutram, and so much more. Our do’s and don’ts in personal life though were essentially limited to yama and niyama.

Around 1971, Baba began systematically giving so many teachings related with our personal dealing and way of living – most notably 16 Points. Prior to that some wholetimers were still drinking tea etc, but in 1971 all that stopped.

No doubt, prior to 1971, some had gotten certain practices from Yogic Treatments so a few were doing fasting on occasion and / or wearing laungota etc. But in 1971, those practices and so many more became pervasive in our Marga and were made mandatory via 16 Points and other codes of conduct.

Many may remember that before 1971, in order to have Baba’s darshan, then VSS and in-charges would ensure all had perfectly memorized the Supreme Command. One had to repeat it perfectly either in Hindi, Bengali, or English. Then and only then would they be allowed to enter the darshan hall or room.

But in 1971, that changed. Then everyone had to perfectly recite 16 Points in their exact order. That time Baba also began delivering so many discourses on various aspects of Sixteen Points.

SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Thus it was in Patna that Baba graciously first checked our Sixteen Points in so many different ways to ensure that we were all moving and growing properly on the path. Reciting the mere list of 16 Points was not all that was expected – we also had to follow.

It went something like this.

In the 2nd half of 1971 after shifting the office from Ranchi to Patna due to extreme social tension and unrest, we would regularly arrive – almost daily – at Baba’s Quarters or the jagrti for darshan.

AM was still growing at a good clip, but not at the booming rate as months earlier because the government and newspapers were releasing and printing so much false propaganda about Baba and the Marga.

In that dramatic era, we would all file in to see Baba and when there were 20 or 30 of us, then He would graciously take His seat and we would all be inside the walled Patna compound seated in an open area focused on Him. It was all quite beautiful and charming.

And as I say, those were the days when Baba has strictly checking 16 Points as He was well aware that the Emergency was looming eerily on the horizon.

BABA’S SPECIAL WAY OF CHECKING

In His divine manner, Baba would look around at the margiis present and openly ask us about our practices.

But it would be done in a very special way.

Baba would say, “Gopal, show us your shaoca manjusa. You have such a beautiful shaoca manjusa. It is very nice. Show it to us so everyone may see – after all this is one of our 16 Points.”

Baba had intentionally called on Gopal because He knew that Gopal did not have a shaoca manjusa.

In response, in the course of this loving liila where Baba was watching out for the welfare of all, Gopal would feel a bit ashamed or humiliated or embarrassed, and internally understood that he would have to be more strict on the point of shaoca manjusa.

And in that way, all the other margiis present understood as well that they would have to be strict, lest they get called on in front of all.

Baba would do the same thing with the point of laungota. If anyone present was not wearing a laungota, then that was the person Baba would call upon.

Baba would say, “Oh, Chandra Mohan, I understand you are very sincere in wearing a laungota every day. Is that not so. Don’t you always wear your laungota. Tell us.”

Then everyone knew that Chandra Mohan was not wearing a laungota. Plus they all knew that if next time they did not wear one then they would get called on.

Once all the physical aspects were addressed in this way, from food to fasting to taking bath properly etc, Baba raised the standard to the psychic & psycho-spiritual planes. He would check to ensure all repeated Guru Mantra before entering the room and that everyone was doing sadhana – all lessons – as directed.

So by applying pressure, Baba was teaching and ensuring we were actively involved in 16 Points. None wanted to be pointed out so step by step, point by point, all began following. This was the way things were rolling those days. Baba was getting everyone prepared and ready.

And not only that, in His loving liila, Baba would harshly rebuke and scold in-charges and VSS for allowing margiis to enter without following 16 Points. So they in turn began vigilantly checking to ensure all margiis were wearing laungota, carrying shaocamanjusa, doing pracara and properly following all the various element of 16 Points.

By this way everyone became strong Ananda Margiis and could weather the storm that was about to come.

STILL RELEVANT TODAY

Now in this year of 2011, the same system applies. Sixteen Points will save us from all difficulties and keep us moving in the right direction.

Baba says, “For progress in entitative flow, one is to lead a pure life, a moralistic life, a life based on moral principles. Do not do anything bad. What is bad? Bad is that which depraves human existence. Follow a strict code of morality. Live a pure life, a neat and clean life. Be strict in 16 Points. What will happen? Your entitative flow will get
purified and will be in parallelism with your psychic wave.” (SS_12)

And here below Baba directly states that our strength and stamina will increase multi-fold by adhering to Sixteen Points.

Baba says, “The more rigidly you follow the 16 Points, the more your mental strength will increase. It will increase so much that it will be more powerful than the collective mental strength of 100,000 people. In a psychic clash they will have to concede victory to you. A person who is physically strong can fight against eight, ten or twenty people at
most, but no more than that. A psychically developed person, however, is able to fight against many more people. So you must endeavour to develop your psychic strength – this is your bounden duty. The more rigidly you follow the 16 Points, the more psychic strength you will acquire. It will not take you long.” (AV-7)

Thus in the same way that 16 Points gave Wts and margiis the strength to manage and thrive during the Emergency, today also 16 Points will fortify us in all the ways needed to spread His teachings and gain success.

Let us also not forget that Baba is watching and those who follow His teachings of Sixteen Points will be graced more and more to proceed onwards. That is also His expressed guideline.

BABA’S BLESSING

By Baba’s grace ours is not the path of preya (mundane pleasure), but rather the path of shreya (Supreme benevolence). Sixteen Points is the way forward. Our duty is to follow and make sure other margiis are also following. Then our Marga will be strong, on both the individual and collective level.

Baba says, “…In order to march ahead on the road of human welfare, we will have to strengthen ourselves in all the arena of life. The complete seeds of welfare in all the spheres – physical, mental, moral, social and spiritual – are embedded in the sixteen points. Hence be firm on the sixteen points.” (A’nanda Va’nii #45)

Namaskar
Karun

Note 1: MANY OF THE 16 PT TEACHINGS WERE PRESENT ALREADY

Although Sixteen Points was formally given during the above time period in 1970-71, many of those teachings were already present in the form of various worker and margii conduct rules, Yogic Treatments, and other teachings. By giving 16 Points, Baba codified and explicitly listed all these rules and regulations into one concerted list.

PRABHAT SAMGIITA

“A’va’r ki re a’lo elo dhu’lor e dhara’te…” (P.S. #615)

Purport:

O’ human being, behold! Ajana Pathik has come again on this dusty earth. The flood of effulgence has come. Through the medium of longing, You quench the thirst of the eyes. Look, the Lord of Effulgence has Himself come. All the minds and hearts which were crying in suffering and pain, are now dancing in joy. Because, He has come. He loves one and all, everyone. He has come here to remove the suffering, and establish dharma. Because of His advent, everything changed. The sweet breeze is blowing full of fragrance. On this dusty earth, Ajana Pathik has come…

***************************************
One Should Always Remember

Baba says, “However little one’s capacity might be, if one constantly remembers that Parama Purus’a is always with him, that they are in the closest contact with Parama Purus’a, they will be able to do everything. They are not as small as they think themselves to be. And as long as they remember this closest association with Him, they can do much more than ordinary human beings. When this idea becomes permanently established in their minds, they become great. This is why no one should be disappointed or depressed in any circumstances; let everyone constantly perform great deeds, remembering that the flow of their capacity is coming from Parama Purus’a, and thus they can do everything.” (AFPS-3, p. 62)
***************************************

With the arrival of effulgence, all drowsiness & sleepiness have been
vanquished. In the flower garden, new growth has come. The buds of those
flowers which were in hibernation have now all bloomed. And they have
filled the flowers with nectar; it is overflowing.

Each and everyone’s heart is vibrated with the new color. Each and every movement in life is vibrated in His flow. The air, the water, the earth, and the sky– everything is filled with His vibration and charm. The advent of the new dawn has come; now there will not be any more cries or laments due to the darkness. In the language and expression there will no longer be any bitterness– rather it will be saturated with sweetness and love. Love will be the source of all inspiration.

This transformation has all happened due to the causeless grace of
Parama Purusa; He created this momentum and changed the whole vibration
of this entire universe. He filled it with His own color. The new dawn
has come and the drowsiness of staticity and dogma has disappeared. The
sweetness and charm of spirituality has taken advent…

== NEWS: VSS CAMP & GREEDY COMMANDERS ==

Namaskar,
As most margiis know, before every DMS, there is an ETC camp and VSS /
WRC camp. These camps are for the further education and training of our
Wt cadre. Then comes DMS and of course after DMS is Wt reporting. Our
acarya cadre participates in all these programs. This is Baba’s
established system for the ongoing development of our workers as well as
for the smooth running of our organisation.

Unfortunately, these days some of the camps do not always run according
to the ideals and tenets of Ananda Marga. Tragically, the VSS camp held
before the recently conducted summer DMS 2010 was no different.

There were many issues – one of which was that of haves and have-nots.
Specifically certain in-charges treated themselves to delicious
delicacies while the Wt campers were the have-nots, just given low-grade
food and leftovers.

A full report on this critical issue is noted below, detailing many of
the unfortunate tales which transpired at the VSS camp.

First however we should review Baba’s teachings on this important matter.

BABA STORY #1

In two of Baba’s short stories, He describes very colorfully how the
“haves” (i.e. exploiters) indulge in sumptuous feasting while the common
people are left to starve.

Here, in this first story, the demon king hoards huge amounts of food
and luxuries and leaves his staff to starve. It seems similar things are
happening at our VSS camps.

Here the villain demon is introducing the hero guest, i.e. the prince,
to his [the demon’s] daily menu.

“Do you know what our daily menu is? We eat golden cakes fried in
clarified butter, Pearl water mixed with coconut kernel, spiced Parble
curry with salmon fish made of platinum and in the morning we brush our
teeth with diamond powder!”

The prince asked, “Is there such an arrangement for everyone here?”

The demon said, “This arrangement is for us only – that is, for those
who are learned, intellectual, rich, highborn and aristocratic. Those
with whom you associate due to your ignorance – those poor, mean and
illiterate people – where would they get such things? They neither know
how to cook nor eat. They eat stale rice and scorched eggfruit and they
brush their teeth with ash.””

“The next day the prince went to the demon’s palace on invitation. He
went there reluctantly, out of sheer courtesy. When he arrived, he found
that there was a royal feast. Before him were spread so many dishes and
bowls, some of gold, some of silver, some studded with diamonds, all
finely carved. He did not even know the names of all the pots and
utensils! The distance between some of the dishes was not less than one
mile. There were some telescopes also to see the foods kept in the
distant dishes. The prince was not familiar with most of the dishes served.”

“There were small langra mangoes of Hazipur, Dasherii mangoes of
Lucknow, Alfonso mangoes of Bombay, yellow Jardalu mangoes of Bhagalpur,
Fazli mangoes of Malda, Ranipasand, Begampasand, and Kohitoor mangoes of
Murshidabad, Sarikhas mangoes of Hooghly, Pearafuli mangoes of
Sheorafuli, Begunfuli mangoes of Madras, and so many other kinds as well!”

“Then there were lechees of Saharanpur, Muzzafarpur and Baruipur,
watermelons from Lucknow, halwa-sweets; Rabri of Vrindaban, cream
sweets, Ghevar sweets of Rajasthan, Shonpapri; Kalakanda Paura from Gaya
and Deoghar, Morabba (Jam) from Suri, white milk sweet of Mankar,
Sitabhog and Mihidana from Bardhaman, Gaja from Chandannagar, Khaichur
of Janai-Dhanekhaii Langcha of Shaktigarh, tasty puffed rice balls from
Jayanagar, Sarbhaja-sarpuria of Krsnanagar, Manohara from Beidanga,
Chanabara; chanar-jellabee and Raskadamba from Murshidabad, curds from
Natore and Nababganj, sweet rice pudding from Dacca, chandanchurd from
Pabna, kancagolla of Muragacha (Nadia) and sweet laddu of Delhi…”

In this above section, you have read how the greedy demon was indulging
in all kinds of tasty foods. Now here read below how his own staff was
living in starvation and malnutrition. They were starving to death also.

“Let me see those cooks, servants and pages who prepared such delicious
dishes and served them so elegantly,” [the hero guest] thought. While
passing by the servants’ quarters [of the demon’s staff], he suddenly
reached the place where the kitchen staff were eating together after the
day’s hard labour. They were quite exhausted. Those who had cooked so
wonderfully and served so carefully were eating only stale rice,
scorched eggfruit and the sour sauce of some leaves, perhaps tamarind.”

Finally the hero guest, i.e. the prince, retires for the evening but is
unable to sleeping, thinking of all those starving people.

“The prince returned to his cottage with a heavy heart. So many thoughts
were running in his brain. He was thinking that he had made a great
mistake to eat and drink such delicious food and drink cooked and served
by those poor people. The beautiful eyes of the prince were deprived of
sleep that night. He was thinking continuously, “If I cannot free
humanity from such meanness, what is the use of my education, my
intellect? My coming to this earth as a human being bears no value.””

Here in this story Baba is telling us that how degraded people eat
voraciously and do not care about their staff nor their fellow brothers
and sisters. Rather they continue to exploit them.

In other words, we can say clearly that Baba is teaching us that we
should treat all with respect and not create a two-tiered system of
“haves” and “have nots” on the point of food etc. That is not the way
for leaders of society to live – indeed those who contravene this rule
are nothing but the enemies of humanity.

Baba says, “A few become rich and others become poor. In such a
condition millions die without food, live without shelter, work without
education, suffer without medicine and move without proper clothing. The
society then splits into two distinct groups – haves and have-nots. The
former is the class of exploiters – the capitalists – and the latter is
the class of the exploited.” (AFPS-8)

This above quote prepares us for what was going on at the VSS camp: How
some were enjoying exotic dishes while others were not even getting
basic food and almost starving.

BABA STORY #2

To understand the situation better please read this next story.

“The ministers [of the ghost kingdom] were talking over their meal.
Tarun [the hero] was surprised to see that they were eating far more
than the ordinary ghosts. Their menu was altogether different from that
of the common ghosts who had to chew dry bones and lick the salty earth.
The ministers, however, ate delicacies such as cricket curry a la creme,
roasted kite and roasted royal vulture.”

“That day some of the devotees gave His Holiness [i.e. the Top Ghost
Bhutanandaji] a number of malpo sweets made of condensed milk. To
prevent his disciples from casting greedy glances at the sweets,
Bhutanandaji had kept them hidden behind him.”

Unfortunately, just as Bhutanandaji Ghost kept his sweets hidden, it was
reported that during the VSS camp, the Commander-in-Chief Dada
Paramananda kept a basket of sweets under his bed so that no one else
could see what he had.

Let’s see furthermore what is going on in the ghost kingdom.

“After sending his disciples to double the gold [scam], Bhutanandaji
suddenly remembered the malpo [sweets]. However, just then another
householder disciple arrived. His Holiness was considerably annoyed and
glared at the newcomer.”

“Your Holiness,” said the disciple, “you are truly a great ghost. It’s
no ordinary matter to remain without food for days together.”

“Bhutanandaji’s face beamed with joy. Another disciple looked at the
householder and said, “Do you think His Holiness is like any ordinary
ghost and will simply waste his time eating? He spends his whole time in
spiritual meditation. He may give up his life and go to Hell any day; an
excellent garden house has already been reserved for him there. The
other day the God of Death himself appeared and entreated His Holiness
to accompany him. However, His Holiness declined the invitation saying
that he has no time to go and rest in Hell. Rather, he wishes to
continue selflessly serving us ghosts for some time more.””

“The family devotee exclaimed, “Yes, it is only due to His Holinesses
grace that we are able to survive. Could His Holiness find joy in Hell,
leaving us here on Earth?””

“He continued, “There are so many wild fruits and roots and other edible
things here. Won’t His Holiness even eat those?””

““No,” replied the disciples. “His Holiness only eats air. Today is a
fasting day so he won’t even eat that. He observes a waterless fast and
that’s why he won’t even take air.””

“After some time, the householder devotee left.”

“Then His Holiness turned around in search of the malpo sweets. He was
amazed to see that there was nothing there. The sweets were missing.”

“His Holiness was beside himself with anger. “Hey you fellows, who ate
the malpos? Don’t you know they were meant for me? Who ate them? Vomit
them out immediately. I won’t spare you until I’ve eaten those malpos!!!””

“The disciples said, trembling, “Believe us, Your Holiness, we didn’t
eat them. We swear by touching bones, we promise by touching cow-dung,
we pledge by touching dead bodies that neither did we eat them nor did
we allow a cow ghost or a cat ghost or even an ant ghost to touch them.
It is really a strange thing, Your Holiness.””

“His Holiness roared, “I don’t want to hear these things; I know you
have eaten them. Vomit them out! I shall eat them.””

“There ensued a big scuffle between His Holiness and his disciples. An
initial shouting match became a bloody battle.”

“The police, on being informed, rushed to the spot. They arrested both
sides and dragged them to the police station.”

In the above story, Baba is ridiculing those greedy leaders who want all
the tasty dishes for themselves yet hypocritically portray themselves as
great sadhus who follow all kinds of tapasya like fasting etc. And they
do not care about their fellow brothers and sisters, i.e. not even those
who are in their own family.

Tragically, this display also was going on at the VSS camp.

DUTY OF SUPERVISORY WORKERS

While Baba graphically points out in His above two stories how crude
leaders behave, He also clearly outlines that sadvipras should never
indulge in such misdeeds, nor support it in any way. Indeed true
sadhakas will always be sympathetic to the plight of the common people
and suffering humanity.

Now let us see the conduct rules of Wts: Should our workers eat
selfishly or should they share.

Baba says, “Supervisory workers will have to take care of each of their
supervised staff in all respects.” (WT Conduct Rules, Six Additional
Rules, pt #2)

Baba says, “Setting an example by individual conduct before asking anybody to do the same.” (Fifteen Shiilas, pt #8)

By His above guidelines, it is clear that those in charge of our various
AM camps are to pay heed and care for the well-being of the general
cadres. And such camp organisers should be sacrificing in spirit and
lead by their example.

And indeed the VSS camp is the designated place to put into practice
such teachings. That is the main purpose of the VSS camp. Because the
VSS camp is the venue where cadres must memorise all the rules,
regulations and codes of conduct. Naturally then the leaders of such
camps should be shining examples of Baba’s teachings. There should not
be a two-tiered system of “haves” and “have nots” in our camps.

Now let’s take a look at what really transpired.

THE SCENE AT THE RECENT VSS CAMP

Even to the casual observer, the most recent VSS camp before the summer
2010 DMS became a striking display of “haves” and “have nots”,
especially on the point of food. And it was like that from the very
beginning.

First we should say that this camp was odd in that there were 40 Wt
officers. These are the numbers: 40 Wt officers with just 20 Wt campers
– i.e. 10 avadhutas and 10 brahamcaryiis. The numbers were totally
imbalanced. This is quite a peculiar camp where cadres are only half the
number of officers. With such a small camp there should have been only 4
or 5 officers – not 40 – and they should have had 55 campers. But they
made all the crude and indisciplined Wts into officers and they made the
simple and good Wts into campers. That is how the whole thing became so
lopsided.

On Day 1, Chief-in-Command (CNC) and his officers like Rajeshananda,
Nityasundarananda, Mahitoshananda, Nabhatiitananda held a feast for
themselves from morning till night while the Wt campers ate the most
basic of foods. These 40 in-charges feasted on puri (deep fried bread),
special vegetables with red chilis and hot spices, and so many tasty
treats including a huge basket of jellabee (coiled sweets). So all those
top Dadas greedily indulged in all kinds of delicacies that first day,
as well as throughout the camp. And they did not share even one morsel
with the Wt campers. All the while the common Wt campers were forced to
consume bland, tasteless food.

Sound familiar – does it sound like Baba’s above stories from demon
kingdom and ghost underworld.

Indeed, some top-level and greedy officers kept that huge basket of
jellabee under the bed of CNC so no camper would see or grab what they
had. Is this not exactly what the chief ghost did.

It is striking, nay shocking, how the VSS camp seems to mirror the above
stories.

Those VSS in-charges gathered such a feast for themselves that they
could not finish it the first day. So they planned to eat it the next
day. But the next day in the early morning when they tried to eat it
they found that it had gone sour. Actually it was very hot (125 F), so
the food could not be kept fresh – as there was no refrigeration. It was
only then – after it had gone sour – that they chose to share a few
pieces with those Wt campers.

Verily the entire camp continued in this manner. Most of the officers
were totally indisciplined: Never doing sadhana or asanas, just spending
the whole time gossiping, sleeping during the day, and eating and then,
on occasion, walking around the ranks as if they were great VSS leaders.

So for days on end those VSS officers ate sumptuous company prepared
foods and fancy drinks along with milk sweets in their own separate
kitchen while the general Wt campers just ate boiled garbanzo beans, red
chilis, and other cheap foods lacking in nutrition and poor for digestion.

In addition, all the money collected from margiis for the VSS camp was
used primarily on the officers.

Just so it is clear who is who – here following is a list of the VSS
officers from that camp that took place before the summer DMS.

So these were the main officers. Rajeshananda is basically indisciplined
and did no sadhana or asanas. Nityasundarananda was totally slack in
following the rules. Mahitoshananda also never followed the rules and
just to show his power he smacked one of the non-margii school boy
campers very strongly.

So these were the so-called leaders.

Because there were 40 officers and only 20 Wt campers, they invited 85
non-margii primary school students (aged 5 – 12 years old) from
Jahanabad from our AM school to participate in the camp – just so they
had campers to rule. Without those young non-margii campers, the
officers outnumbered the general Wt campers by a 2:1 ratio. So they
invited those primary school students to make the camp successful.

Throughout the camp, those sincere Wts were commanded to do physical
training & parade etc and eat lowly food, while those “big officers”
gossiped, partied, and feasted. Such officers never felt in their heart
that the camp rules applied to them also.

Yet when any Wt camper did not “jump” when they were ordered to jump,
then they would be harshly punished by physical abuse. This is the way
those greedy and voracious-eating officers ruled the camp. They ate and
ruled while the general Wts were made to starve and obey.

Such was the scene at the summer 2010 VSS camp.

BABA’S TEACHINGS & WARNINGS

To fully understand the above story as well as how Wts should behave
with themselves and margiis, Baba has given some guidelines. Please read
below.

Baba says, “Before taking food, ascertain if anybody present there has
not eaten. If anyone has not eaten, do not take food unless the person
willingly gives permission.” (CC-2, ‘Society’, pt #1)

Those who are greedy and eat food selfishly and do not like to share,
they fall in this following category.

Baba says, “Suppose someone has a irresistible desire to eat delicious
food. Parama Purus’a will grant that wish, and the person may be reborn
in the next life as a wolf or wild boar, to eat to his heart’s content.”
(AV-4)

BABA’S BLESSING

In this VSS camp, and others like it, with the the pressure of
circumstance those camp leaders mercilessly exploit their fellow cadres.
We should remember Baba’s below teaching.

Baba says, “Sarve bhadra’n’i pashyantu na kashcid duhkhama’pnuya’t.”

“Let nobody be forced to undergo any suffering due to pressure of
circumstance.”

Namaskar,
Ram Sahay

Note 1: WHERE DID THIS COME FROM

To understand where these VSS in-charges got these bad habits of eating
alone and not caring about others, one must dig deeper, then you will
find out the answer – see below

It is not just in VSS camps but ETC camp, and Central Office where such
things are going on. Indeed each and every central person and so-called
leader has his own cook. This includes Dadas like: Rudrananda,
Nigamananda, Svarupananda, Citswarupananda, Kalyaneshvarananda,
Bhaveshananda, Pranavatmakananda, Parmeshvarananda etc. All such persons
do not share food with their fellow workers.

Baba, You are the most magnificent One. The tale of Your glory and
grandeur is floating and permeating throughout each and every molecule of
the vast, blue sky and in the effulgence– everywhere. Baba, Your story,
the story of the ever-present, Ancient One, is glittering in all the
realms: in both bhuloka and duloka– in the physical and spiritual worlds.
Baba, You are so gracious.

O’ Ancient, Divine One, You are eternally, ever-new. Baba, by Your grace
You are always, intrinsically with everyone– just like their vital force,
just like their pra’na. Baba, You always remain present in my feeling,
ideation, and intuition. For that reason this eternal longing of my heart
is for You and You alone.

Baba, by Your grace with the flow of effulgence You color my mind and
You are sitting in the depths of my ideation playing Your divine flute in
the deep core of my heart. Baba You are so compassionate: You do not
neglect or overlook anyone. You graciously goad everyone towards divinity,
You show everyone the path which leads to immortality.

Namaskar,
As Ananda Margiis we openly recognise that spirituality is the highest
thing in life. That is the greatest endeavour: spiritual attainment. And to
reach to that highest stance and come in contact with Parama Purusa we all
do sadhana.

Side by side, we readily accept that in the spiritual realm His grace is
everything. That is the be-all and end-all. Nothing more is needed than
that; this much we all know and feel: That Baba’s causeless grace is
everything.

Yet at the same time in this panoramic liila of Parama Purusa, as human
beings our assigned duty is to do sadhana. That is, we are to put forth our
best effort and follow the path which He has graciously given. We have to
please Him by following His teachings.

So when Guru has given the system of intuitional practice, our duty is to
follow that path. In that case, sadhana has to be done– there is no other
way.

Here following then are a few points related with spiritual vibration and
how to best retain that special feeling which we all get by doing His
sadhana. Everyone is also welcome and very much encouraged to write in with
their own thoughts and experiences.

BABA SHOWERS HIS DIVINE BLESSING AND GRACE

In His magnificent manner, it is well accepted that Baba being the Parama
Purusa can grace us in innumerable ways. We can feel His grace by attending
and seeing His divine darshan. Plus when doing His dhyan, we can come in
contact with His divine presence and feel His closeness– His grace. In
dream also He bathes us in His divine effulgence. So there are multiple
ways in which we feel His grace. Or more specifically, He has innumerable
ways to shower His infinite grace.

And sure enough one of the most visible ways to receive His grace is by His
physical touch. We all know that while in physical form, Baba would touch
sadhakas as a way to bless and grace them. This we have all seen or heard
about on countless occasions. Where by His mere touch Baba was able to put
aspirants into samadhi and or cure their ailments etc. By His touch
sadhakas could feel His grace. In countless demonstrations Baba has shown
this.

After all who has not heard about how Baba would regularly direct various
persons like Dasarthji to grab onto His toe and by doing so Dasarthji would
then be able to see past, present, and future– by Baba’s grace. This Baba
has demonstrated oh so many times– too many to count.

Here the whole point we can understand that physical touch has the capacity
to carry spiritual vibrations. By physical touch spiritual wavelengths are
transferred.

ALL ARE ATTRACTED TO HIS DIVINE FORM

For this reason, while in physical form, all were madly running after Baba.
Because by coming in His physical contact one could feel His spiritual
vibration, His divine grace, His boundless love.

At the same time in His divine liila, Baba was not openly allowing
disciples to touch Him. This is also a well known fact. Physically touching
His feet was not allowed when doing sastaunga pranam. And if done, then in
His divine play and dramatic way Baba would become visibly furious and
angry. So this was His liila’: Sadhakas were deeply attracted to His
physical form and side by side Baba was not allowing people to rush up and
touch Him.

“I AM THE NUCLEUS OF CHARM” — BABA

THE STORY BEHIND THE FORMATION OF VSS

To control the situation– to keep sadhakas from running up and touching
Him– Baba Himself formed the cadre of VSS: ‘Volunteers for Social
Service’. Since those days the first and foremost duty of VSS was to keep a
tranquil and clear pathway for Baba, wherever He would go. To allow Him to
move around in peace without being barraged by the many margiis and wts who
wanted to have His physical touch.

To further explain this grand phenomenon, on various special occasions Baba
has graciously revealed His unique plan behind the formation of VSS.

“I am the nucleus of the charm, all get attracted to Me, people grab Me, so
for that reason I had to make VSS.”

By His grace on select circumstances Baba has revealed that this unique
truth: That He is the embodiment of spiritual charm and for this reason
sadhakas are deeply attracted to His physical presence and to keep control
of the situation it was necessary for Him to form the VSS cadre.

A FEW OF BABA’S PRACTICAL GUIDELINES

By all this we can easily realise that spiritual waves pass through
physical touch.

With this in mind, in order to direct human beings along the proper path,
Baba has given various guidelines to help people advance. Because
maintaining a spiritual vibration while living in this mundane world is not
an easy job. We need help wherever we can get it. So to maintain our
spiritual flow, one point Baba advises us is to minimize our physical
contact or touching with the common public– with others.

Baba says, “Do not shake hands with anyone.” (CC-1, chap 7)

Baba says, “Unrelated men and women should not, as far as is possible,
touch each other.” (CC-I, 95 Edn, p.49)

So as far as we can understand His liila, we can see that this point of
touching others– or not touching others– has meaning. It is not just a
physical or psychic or social expression. By touch, spiritual energy is
also transferred– i.e. it can be lost.

IN OUR OWN LIVES

So in our own practical life we should try to follow the word and spirit of
Baba’s above guidelines– as far as possible. This is something for us all
to experiment with and gain an inner understanding of. Along these lines
here are some points for everyone’s consideration.

As sadhakas to whatever degree possible after doing sadhana one should not
touch others right away. Of course in our family lives we have small
children etc, but to whatever extent we can, we should try not to come in
physical contact with others immediately after doing sadhana.

In addition, sadhana should not be done with a cat or dog in our lap. Nor
should we hold our small babies in our arms when doing sadhana. Best is to
be alone when doing sadhana, and not touching others.

And if we all think further on this there are probably numerous other
approaches regarding physical touch and sadhana etc.

Overall, the above are but a few of the many ways to increase one’s sadhana
and spiritual flow as they help to retain one’s devotional vibration.

Whereas if we do sadhana and then randomly go around touching everyone then
that subtle energy just drains out.

POINT OF TOUCHING: REALITY NOT JUST FANTASY

So this point of touching is an attainable reality not just a mere fantasy.
However some in our Marga do not understand or accept this. In that case we
have to think how far they are different from those atheists who think that
God is just a mere figment of one’s imagination. In their psycho-spiritual
poverty such atheists cannot conceive of or feel His divine presence and
love. Similarly a few lower type of sadhakas senselessly disregard this
point of touching, thinking it is utterly meaningless. Whereas those with a
balanced outlook understand its inherent value and are willing to
experiment with and understand this point of touching.

Actually many advanced sadhakas in our Marg advise that less or minimal
touching helps one to progress in the higher realms. And indeed this is
Baba’s guideline as well. So we should all see for ourselves and try to
realise this eternal truth.

Once again all are encouraged to write in and share their experiences.

BABA’S BLESSING

By His grace here Baba shows us that as we progress in sadhana we can feel
His physical touch– His divine touch– more and more, thereby submerging
our entire existence in His bliss.

Baba says, “When the sa’dhaka clearly feels the thrill of divine existence
around him at the time of sa’dhana’, the state of bliss as experienced by
the sa’dhaka is described as dasha’. When the sa’dhaka feels the existence
of the divine world around him, as also the source from which the divine
existence comes, the state of bliss the sa’dhaka experiences at the time of
sa’dhana’ is bha’va. Again, when the sa’dhaka feels the closest proximity
of Parama Purus’a, even within his embrace, that bha’va is called
maha’bha’va.”

“At the time of dasha’, the sa’dhaka feels bliss within and falls down, and
during bha’va, the sa’dhaka feels proximity to God, feels great bliss and
falls down.”

“At the time of maha’bha’va, the sa’dhaka feels the tactual presence of
Parama Purus’a and falls down. At that time, every nerve-cell, every
nerve-fibre and every pore of the human body feels the divine touch.” (AV-33)

Baba says, “Black pepper stimulates the secretion of saliva, increases
hunger, and helps to enhance digestion. Plus it makes the nerve fibers
alert. Furthermore it is a medicine and remedy for lethargy and melancholia.”
“If you make a paste by mixing the top layer of milk with black pepper
and apply it to the face it prevent acne.” (SC-8)

Note: People should also be aware that black pepper, especially coarse
grain black pepper, should not be applied directly on the food when one is
eating. Rather it should be prepared with the food. That way in the cooking
process the black pepper will mix with the water and get distributed evenly
throughout the dish. Whereas if one eats raw black pepper directly on their
food then it enters the body in a very concentrated form which the body
cannot digest. If the black pepper is extremely fine like dust, then one
can eat it directly but best is to hydrate it in water first and then let
it sit for a while in a container and then sparingly put that sauce (i.e.
pepper water) on your food.
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